


ophiocordyceps unilateralis

by qvill



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: ....that is, If I continue, and other fun zombification matters!, ch. 1 is a test and I need help brainstorming yall, funky fungi fun facts!, gist is grian is infected by mycelium without realizing it and things quickly go BAD, hep - Freeform, influence, the mycelium resistance - Freeform, themes of mind control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27155045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qvill/pseuds/qvill
Summary: unfortunately, it's the leader of the HEP who's a master of botany and knowing what fungi should and shouldn't be capable of, and unfortunately, grian most certainly does Not know that exposure to fungus typically does not turn your veins lavender and your mind astray.[ “But Grian,” she calls out, and she spots him as he stops and backpedals towards her, just out of her periphery as she turns back towards the signs and gestures. “What’s really the point of all this?”If Stress were looking just a bit of the side, she would have seen Grian freeze. She would have seen how his hands stop half-way through an eager gesture, and would have seen his gaze as it stares at the Resistance’s new recruit. She could have seen how his eyes flash into lavender-tinted orbs before shifting back, and she could have seen how he hardly breathes in that moment, dead-eyed and staring.But all she knows is a moment passes, and he prances back into sight, sweeping an arm to one of the signs. “Stress,” he says with an innocent, delighted grin.“It’s just about the principle!” ]
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68





	ophiocordyceps unilateralis

**Author's Note:**

> oh god please help I need more ideas aslkjsdalkjgd
> 
> but no seriously if you want to help brainstorm either write a comment or message me on tumblr, @ tsatti. it would be INCREDIBLY appreciated

Stress ran a hand along the polished quartz table as Grian talked, dramatically gesturing as he described the Resistance’s base to the fresh recruit. She  _ really  _ doesn’t mind the ‘turf’ wars between the two organizations of Hermits, but honestly— she’s happy on either team, or on none at all.  _ Dropping  _ in on the shenanigans afoot just meant that she hardly had to choose at all. 

And besides, she’s hardly opposed to joining a server-wide activity that Grian orchestrated, as all the best ones seem to spawn from. There’s an… infectious fun that the builder spreads wherever he goes, and while she isn’t picky on what covers the ground of the shopping district, Stress muses, being on a team led by the chaotic man might just be more fun altogether. 

She tunes back into Grian’s brief tour as he eagerly leads her to their board of plans, and her gaze skims the text on the signs. Grian already seems to be going past, but she lingers, and lets out a short  _ hmm.  _

“But  _ Grian _ ,” she calls out, and she spots him as he stops and backpedals towards her, just out of her periphery as she turns back towards the signs and gestures. “What’s really the point of all this?”

If Stress were looking just a bit of the side, she would have seen Grian freeze. She would have seen how his hands stop half-way through an eager gesture, and would have seen his gaze as it stares at the Resistance’s new recruit. She could have seen how his eyes flash into lavender-tinted orbs before shifting back, and she could have seen how he hardly breathes in that moment, dead-eyed and staring. 

But all she knows is a moment passes, and he prances back into sight, sweeping an arm to one of the signs. “Stress,” he says with an innocent, delighted grin. 

“It’s just about the  _ principle! _ ”

\---

at some point, grian names the central block of mycelium, held aloft by the finest chains and between two pipes, each dusted with spores upon spores. he doesn’t tell the others. he’s the mother spore, is he not? its customary for a mother to name their children, but there are millions of lavender spores. they drift across the resistance base, floating through the air, no matter how stagnant. they cling to his sweater, hiding amongst the pilling fabric, and they leave a layer of dust across the round meeting table. 

he can’t name them all. but they’re all interconnected. all of the mycelium must come from the original stripped turf of the shopping district, and they all mix together anyway, be it in the air or from the stockpiled shulker boxes of uprooted, fresh mycelium, ready to be returned. 

he names it collectively ‘the principle’, because that’s all it is, really. 

\--

Once Stress leaves the Resistance Base, a job title to her name and sworn to secrecy, Grian looks around the base, watching spores drift through the air. There’s something in his heart, in his veins, that swells as he looks around him. He  _ built  _ this. He’s starting another fun, innocent game between Hermits, because that’s all it is, really. Isn’t everyone just having some fun? 

He most  _ certainly  _ is. With a flick of his elytra and the swift ignition of a rocket, he flies out the top of the base, and the lavender-tinted veins that weave beneath his skin, around his heart, towards his skull, pulse quietly as their kin is left behind, if just for a moment. 

Grian feels none of it, knows none of it. They’re just  _ spores _ . It’s just a  _ game.  _

it’s just about the principle.


End file.
